Tag Archives: CGM in the Cloud

Technology: More to think about, in a good way.

October 8, 2015 – 9:50 am

I got through reading this thouroughly engaging post from Kerri Sparling over at diaTribe. It’s a very helpful post that gives People With Diabetes real information to consider when deciding whether to share or not share continuous glucose monitor (CGM) data via NightScout, the Dexcom G5 Mobile CGM, or MiniMed Connect/Carelink.

As I said, I thought the post was very helpful, but what also struck me was how we now have three different BG data sharing platforms to choose from.

When I considered that, I had a reaction that went something like: “Wha… what? Two years ago we didn’t have any! Now there are three!”. On the surface, it’s a no-brainer. Why not be able to share data from your CGM? But it took Nightscout, in my opinion, to get that ball rolling. Once people, and mostly device makers, saw that, and considered the possibilities for themselves, they were all on board. Makes perfect sense.

But there’s something else to consider too. Think about this: If you’re using a CGM and you decide to share, you now have to decide who to share your data with, and the rules regarding that shared data. It’s as if the gods said “Well, you don’t have enough diabetes stuff to think about already, let’s roll out something new to give you even more to worry about”.

That’s in addition to the fact that we now have, essentially, three separate apps sharing data across three separate platforms. It’s great to have choices. The more choices we have, the more likely it is that we’ll find something we really like. We need that. But again… more decisions. Which to choose? That’s easy if you’re using the Enlite sensor from Medtronic. But if you’re a Dexcom user, you have two options to choose from.

On the other hand, these are good problems to have. And parents of kids with diabetes, especially, have been wanting something like this since forever. I know, because I’ve asked them. I’ve been at JDRF Type One Nation events where parents see remote monitoring for the first time and simply ache for it. For them, it’s choices, schmoices. They’ll take anything as long as it works, because it allows for both more freedom for their child, and more knowledge of how the child’s diabetes is performing throughout the day. More choices? More decisions to make? Bring it on! They don’t care. Parents are awesome that way.

It’s very interesting for me, this realization that these three data sharing platforms seem almost ho-hum now. Sharing CGM data already seems like it’s been a part of our lives for quite a while. But it’s been less than two years between having and keeping CGM data to ourselves, and having the ability to share it with people a world away.

We live in a fast-paced world powered by technology. The latest innovations are making their way toward us faster than ever. The trick will be, of course, in not investing our time working for our data. But rather making the data work for us, for our health, for our safety, for our happiness.

You know what? We are worth it. #WeAreNotWaiting
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes Technology | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Innovation is good. Innovation WORKS.

August 25, 2014 – 9:34 am

My co-workers and I were talking the other day about our recycling, and one of them mentioned that they now put out more recycling every week than they put out actual garbage. I’ve actually lived in places where a couple of decades ago, there were people arguing that recycling pickup wasn’t worth the cost to have it picked up on a regular basis. Now many of us are throwing out less than we’re recycling. Where would we be if we were still throwing everything away?

Just like when there was no such thing as recycling newspaper, plastic and glass bottles (heck, I can remember when all bottles were glass), cardboard, and metal, there was a time when performing a blood glucose check at home was a pipe dream. There was a time when an insulin pump (no injections? get out!) was something out of a sci-fi novel.

But lo and behold, over time, those devices not only became a reality, they’ve become a fixture in our diabetes lives. New things do get developed. New technology emerges. New therapies are perfected.

That’s why I get a little sad when I hear people say bad things about the artificial or bionic pancreas. It’s disheartening to hear someone dis remote monitoring of their CGM.

The reality is that these two ideas are coming to fruition at a rapid pace. We already know that artificial/bionic pancreas technology, when filtered through an appropriate algorithm, functions far better, with far less effort, in a safer way, than the average patient does on their own. Side note: Can I just refer to it as artificial/bionic pancreas now? Even now, after years of development and testing, this technology is changing further to include a bihormonal (insulin and glucagon) solution. Can you tell me you were thinking about that ten years ago?

And what about remote monitoring of your CGM? We know that Nightscout has already rolled out a solution that can allow parents to send their children to school or to sleepovers with a little less apprehension. Adults can use the CGM In The Cloud to keep their family members in the know, on a real-time basis. Was this on your list of cool diabetes ideas six or seven years ago?

I know it takes a long, long time for products to come to market. But I know that with the help of technology and some extremely smart cookies, new diabetes devices and software are going from concept to go live faster than ever before.

I know that there is still so much about diabetes that will remain dangerous, even after the latest innovations come to our doorstep. But I also know that fear of what still exists is not worth not taking steps to erase some or all of the fear of dangerous nighttime lows.

I know that a cure is still out of our grasp. But I also know that I am willing to live with incremental improvements in care and delivery systems until a cure becomes reality. And I am not willing to wait on everything until a cure is within reach.

I don’t believe I’ve ever written this before. But for the record, I am 1000 percent behind the #WeAreNotWaiting movement. Where last year there were only a few isolated pockets of innovation and collaboration in diabetes technology, there are now visible signs that collaboration and innovation are occurring and are at work right now. And that leaves me thinking that with the speed of technology, #WeAreNotWaiting will soon go from a fringe idea of faster implementation of new ideas, to an inventive steamroller that eventually leaves non-believers thinking #WeShouldn’tHaveWaited.

I was not prompted by anyone to write anything on this subject, but I was inspired by this blog post, and this one too.
 
 
 

By StephenS | Posted in Diabetes | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (4)
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